Albert Adomah is dejected after missing from the spot, meaning Liverpool triumph 14-13 on penalties

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We go again. And again. And again. And again.

Anfield has witnessed some remarkable evenings but few can have compared to the bizarre sight of the penalty shoot-out that eventually saw Liverpool FC progress beyond Championship side Middlesbrough in this Capital One Cup third round tie.

When Albert Adomah skied the 30th spot kick into the Kop it sealed an epic triumph for Brendan Rodgers' side.

Pity the person who had to leave the stadium early because their car was in danger of being towed away could count themselves lucky.

They missed both Raheem Sterling and Patrick Bamford earlier fail from 12 yards before everyone netted - some of them twice - until Adomah's aberration.

So, hours after the redevelopment of their home was given the green light, the Reds began the process of rebuilding confidence after a damaging few weeks.

This, though, was hardly the most convincing preparation ahead of Saturday's Merseyside derby, with 120 minutes of extra time and a draining, seemingly never-ending shoot-out.

Earlier, the Reds were indebted to a debutant Academy graduate and a youngster stepping back in from the cold.

At 17 years and 183 days, homegrown Jordan Rossiter became the eighth youngest player in the club's history when handed his senior bow.

Jordan Rossiter celebrates scoring on his Liverpool debut against Middlesbrough with Jose Enrique

And it took the midfielder only 10 minutes to mark the occasion with a goal. Only a certain Michael Owen was younger when netting for the Reds.

Liverpool, though, gifted Boro a way back into the game shortly past the hour when Adam Reach capitalised on poor marking at a set-piece to equalise.

Suso – making his first appearance for the club since May 2013 having spent last season on loan in Spain with Almeria – post a timely reminder of his talents by emerging from the bench to score on 108 minutes.

Suso scores deep into extra time

But in the very last second of extra time, Raheem Sterling lost the ball, Kolo Toure upended substitute Bamford and the on-loan Chelsea man kept his cool to score from the spot.

An unconvincing start to the campaign, along with a desire to add silverware to his cv, meant Rodgers fielded a surprisingly strong starting line-up, despite seven players dropping out from the side that were humbled at West Ham United last Saturday.

Rickie Lambert was handed the rare honour of captaining his boyhood club on full debut following his summer move from Southampton, while Jose Enrique notched a notable landmark in his return to full fitness by making his first start in almost a year.

Lambert would be the first to admit his Reds career hasn't quite taken off, his efforts here betrayed by his desperation to impress before being substituted for Mario Balotelli. Put simply, the striker is trying too hard.

Indeed, few senior players did their cause any good, save the effervescent Adam Lallana.

Rodgers' faith in youth meant 17-year-old midfielder Rossiter continued his rise to prominence by making his senior bow in central midfield, and was later on replaced by another debutant in 18-year-old Wales under-17 international Jordan Williams.

Rossiter needed just 10 minutes to announce his arrival.

It seemed a forlorn pursuit when Sterling gave chase to a Lucas Leiva punt forward to the edge of the area. But his presence was enough to panic Boro centre-back Kenneth Omeruo and debutant goalkeeper Jamal Blackman into coughing up possession.

Blackman atoned by blocking Lambert's shot from the loose ball, but then undid his good work by allowing Rossiter's speculative shot from fully 40 yards to slip under his foot and nestle into the net.

Rossiter will hope his career path mirrors that of Robbie Fowler than Layton Maxwell, both of whom made their debut in this competition.

The goal was reward for a vibrant opening from Rodgers' side, no doubt mindful of the slow starts that had proven so costly in recent Premier League games.

While Rodgers would readily admit the Capital One Cup is fourth in his list of priorities, Middlesbrough, standing just three points behind early Championship pace-setters Nottingham Forest, have their own pecking order.

Former Red Dani Ayala and his fellow defenders were kept busy during a largely one-sided first half, the lively Adam Lallana firing wide from the edge of the area.

Boro roused themselves before the interval. Kike saw a volley deflected over and later forced Simon Mignolet to smother at his feet after the ball fell fortuitously inside the area.

Mignolet made a decent save to keep out a Lee Tomlin drive through a ruck of bodies, with the Boro midfielder needing only 10 seconds of the second half to burst forward and send another shot narrowly wide from range.

And the visitors were level on 63 minutes when, once again, Liverpool went asleep at a set-piece.

After Mamadou Sakho was cautioned for handball on the right-hand edge of the area, Boro skipper Grant Leadbitter swept in the free-kick and Reach easily lost the attentions of Enrique to head home from a matter of yards.

Reach came close to notching a second shortly but nodded over from an Albert Adomah cross.

Liverpool responded strongly, but both Lallana and Markovic passed up opportunities to shoot before the latter's intended pass to Sterling was cleared.

Mignolet then parried a 25-yard drive from Adam Clayton with Kolo Toure clearing before Tomlin had the chance to pounce on the rebound.

Clayton almost snatched a winner for the visitors with five minutes remaining but struck the outside of the post after racing on to Tomlin's excellent reverse pass.

The Reds claimed a penalty in the final minute of injury time when Ayala missed his header from Sterling's cross and the ball landed on his outstretched arm.

After a tepid first extra period, Liverpool began to build up a head of steam in front of the Kop. Enrique and Sterling both warmed the palms of keeper Blackman before the Reds went back ahead on 109 minutes.

Enrique and Lallana cut through the Boro left and after the tiring visiting defence struggled to clear under pressure from Balotelli, the ball broke back for Suso to fire home a low shot from 16 yards.